Gary Grant, the boss of toy retailer The Entertainer, has accused the Government of failing to take responsibility for the tough trading conditions facing retailers, claiming that it was partly to blame for the High Street’s woes.

Gary Grant: boss of toy retailer The Entertainer

Top dog

Silicon Valley technology titan Amazon is the world’s most valuable retailer, according to a report published by WPP, which looked at the financial value of companies combined with the opinions of millions of consumers in more than 50 countries.

Revenue rise

Agriculture and engineering firm Carr’s Group has enjoyed a 13.2 per cent boost to revenues to £200.1million in the six months to March 3. Profits jumped by 28.2 per cent to £10.6million.

Women plea

The 30 per cent Club, which campaigns to put more women on FTSE 100 boards, will give evidence today to MPs investigating the gender pay gap.

Cleaning up

Cleaning products maker Zenith Hygiene has been bought by rival Diversey and its backer Bain Capital, creating a combined £170million company with roughly 1,000 employees.

Gas vow

Oil titan BP is pledging to keep greenhouse gas emissions from its operations at below 2015 levels until at least 2025.

Diamond haul

Angola-focused Lucapa Diamonds has announced a 10 per cent increase in diamond production to 4,507 carats for the quarter ending March 31.

Car ownership

The number of cars owned by women in the UK has surged by more than a fifth (21 per cent) to 11.8million in a decade, compared with a 10 per cent increase in the number of men buying one in the same period. Research published by trade group the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders shows there are 34.7 million cars on UK roads.

Heading off

Dr Mathias Dopfner, 55, has stepped down as a non-executive director of the mobile phone giant Vodafone Group to focus on his role as chief executive of Axel Springer.

Boss named

Metals tycoon Anil Agarwal’s firm Vedanta Resources has named Srinivasan Venkatakrishnan, 52, as its new boss. He replaces former Rio Tinto executive Tom Albanese, who stepped down last year.